Eclectic Style Makes Home Tour Stop Unique

People

April 6, 1986|By Joanne Stanley, Staff Writer

With nary a palm tree or pink flamingo in sight, the two-story home of Nancy and Jay Simons is not typically Floridian.

The home, nestled on 15 acres appropriately named ``Pintoresco Ranch`` in an unincorporated area of Broward County near Davie, is filled with Victorian and art deco antiques, Southwestern Indian and Western art and unusual items of sentimental value to the owners.

A guided tour of this extraordinary home would not be possible unless one were a personal friend of the Simons. But on Saturday, April 12, the Simons` home will be one of five open to the public as part of the third annual Davie Home Tour, sponsored by the Soroptimist club of Davie.

The Simons` home cannot be seen from the street. One must drive up the long, curling driveway, which meanders past a barn where the Simons lived while building the main house and the tennis court. It`s easy to forget one is in Florida because of the noticeable lack of tropical vegetation.

The first glimpse of the house reinforces the western flavor of the place. Three uneven wooden steps lead up to a front porch made of weathered wood, reminiscent of the old wooden sidewalks Nancy remembers being in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

An old wooden telephone booth stands on one end of the porch, its side painted by an American Indian artist they recently entertained in their home.

The double front doors open into a bright and airy living room, quite a change from the original decor of the house.

``Even when we first built this house, it never looked brand new,`` said Nancy Simons, recalling the darkly stained wooden floors, heavy window coverings and large amounts of red decor that used to fill the house.

``I called it early bordello. It was very Victorian with lots of heavy antique furniture. It was very likeable but heavy-looking.``

Recently redecorated to incorporate Nancy`s new-found interest in the Southwest, the result is an eclectic mix of antiques, Western and Southwestern Indian art and artifacts, and art deco.

Interior decorator Esta Steiner of Cooper City is responsible for the successful blending of this unsual mix.

``I just believe in mixing everything,`` said Steiner. ``My interior decorating is based on who the people are. All the things they have - this is what they are. Nancy and Jay are the focal point of this house.``

The house does reflect the warm, inviting personality of Nancy Simons, with her infectious laugh and witty sense of humor. It also reflects the ``eccentricity,`` as Steiner puts it, of Jay Simons, a prominent Fort Lauderdale attorney and former Hollywood municipal court judge.

Nancy Simon collects what she likes, period. She mixes priceless originals with modern reproductions and, with Steiner`s help, it works.

``I have to put it all together,`` Steiner said. ``They buy it, and all I have to do is clean it up and make it work.``

The walls of the large living room are of uneven stucco, hand-rubbed with hues of pink and blue paint that give the illusion of a late afternoon sky speckled with light pink clouds.

Lining the walls from the first floor to the roof is canvas after canvas of original art. The living room, dominated by a long bar on one side and hand- painted over-stuffed couches in the center, is ringed by a hand-carved balcony connected to stairways on either side of the room.

There are no drapes. Instead, Indian rugs are lashed to the walls above or to the side of the many windows.

Nancy Simons is also an avid paint horse breeder. Horse show trophies are in every room. Photos of her horses fight for space among the photos of her three children - Andrea, Daniel and Joe. She`s content to keep only two horses at the Davie ranch, but she has 30 more at the family`s 50-acre ranch in Texas.

In addition to the horses, the Simons own three dogs, five cats, a parrot and a pond full of Koi fish. They used to have a llama that had an unnerving habit of spitting on guests, but it died on Christmas Eve.

The Simons are not being paid for opening their home. They are doing it because they support the Soroptimists` special project, that of renovating the old Davie school.

Built in 1918 at 6650 Griffin Road, it is the oldest school in Broward County and is used as the administrative offices for the Broward County School system. The Soroptimist Club, a women`s community service organization, is hoping to make it into a museum.

There will be five Davie homes open for touring, on Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.